Confession Is Good For The Soul, Right?

Confession Is Good For The Soul, Right?

Alright, I’m going to do something bold.  I’m going to do something that may seem foolhardy and ill-advised.  (I haven’t checked with my lawyers about this…oh yeah…that’s right, I don’t have lawyers.  But if I had lawyers, I wouldn’t check with them before doing this.) 

I’m going to trust that this is a safe place.  A place of grace and understanding.  I’m going to believe that this is a place where I will be loved and accepted in spite of my flaws and sins and imperfections.  So, here comes my confession….

It’s January 30^th and our Christmas tree is still up.  I know, it’s embarrassing.  I can feel my face turning red even as I type these words.  I can’t believe it’s standing there in the living room.  I’ve kept meaning to put it away.  But there it is, looking at me, saying, “Um, I’m still here, Paul Bunyan.”

It’s sort of strange that it’s still up because some of you may recall, from a story I wrote, that when we put it up, back in December, it kept falling down.  We couldn’t seem to get the thing up and now we can’t seem to get around to taking it down.  This is the tree that refuses to play by the rules.

But that’s it, my dear friends!!!  This tree is coming down and it’s going to be put away!  And I mean it!

Soon.

In fact, I hereby state that this tree will be put away before February.  I’m giving myself a firm deadline.  There’s NO WAY we will have a Christmas tree up in our living room in February.  No sir.  I stand here and proclaim in no uncertain terms—actually I’m sitting, but forget that technicality—I stand and proclaim that this Christmas tree WILL BE TAKEN DOWN AND PUT AWAY before February 1^st!

I’m not kidding.  I’m serious about this.  Consider it a done deal.  Consider it a “mission accomplished”.  The tree will be out of sight and officially put away by February 1^st.  That’s it!  I’m not messing around anymore.

…You know, it occurs to me that it could be a funny conversation-starter to have a Christmas tree up all year long.  Think about people walking into the house in June and there’s the Christmas tree with the lights sparkling.  We would laugh and I would tell them the story and then we’d laugh some more…as they inch nervously toward the door.  Man, it would be hilarious.

But, trust me on this one, by the morning…or perhaps late afternoon…of February 1^st—early evening of Feb. 1^st, at the latest—that tree will be gone.

By the way, it’s never too early to get started on your Christmas shopping, it’s only 329 days away!